Do Your Free Books Promotions Make Buying Cheap Okay?

I really like getting books for a bargain, and this is something that has never, and will likely never change. I enjoy spending hours online searching for the best price for the best books, buying used or second hand over brand new in order to spend less, and doing whatever it takes to save money. I'm without a doubt a cheap ol' gal, however, these habits have caused me to consider something much more sinister.

Does the price we pay (or don't pay) for a really book matter, as long as we're promoting it?

If we're searching out these book bargains and deals, buying them and having them shipped from different countries or from somebody else, and so not contributing to the amount of sales the author makes, is it hypocritical? It is excusable? Is it wrong in the grand scheme of things?

Let's say for example that you buy something on Amazon for less than the standard RRP, which is pretty common practice, someone somewhere is losing profits, whether that's the author, the publisher, the designers, the stores you could have purchased the book from instead. Does promoting that book on your blog, on your Instagram feed make up for that loss of profit, or is it okay?

Sometimes I buy books that are shipped from outside the UK entirely based on price, and while this works for as a lone person financing her hobby, it doesn't help my economy, or the people employed in those sectors, be it bookshops, libraries, publishers, or the authors themselves. I'm putting the needs of myself, the need to get that book for as little as possible, without thought that by not purchasing that book at full price, I'm possibly helping destroy jobs and careers.

By not paying full price for a product, am I disrespecting it's value, and it's creators time and effort?

As if my buying habits weren't bad enough, I also don't buy finished copies of books I received as ARC's, and I don't buy books just to complete series if I've read a copy somehow or somewhere else. This is something I've talked about in the past, and it's usually seen as quite a crime in the book blogging community - to not be buying finished copies of books you loved doesn't help you, or the author, but if your bank balance is low and you don't have to buy it, would you?

Buying books through other people, either second hand or through channels that don't charge full price for books obviously has an adverse affect on the authors, their publishers, and the chances they'll get to publish their novels in future. The amount of sales they receive reflects on them, and affects their career in turn. Is always searching for the next, newest bargain worth the affect this has on the entire market, or are there things to be said for the marketing and promotion that's done for a novel and it's author that makes is acceptable?

Should a reader be spending all their money, gifted, saved or otherwise, on books at their full price, in bookstores, just to support the people behind them to the fullest possible amount, or should we be keeping our wallets tight shut and be supporting our publishers, authors, booksellers and libraries more in other ways by promoting their worth, what they do, and the books we do get at bargain prices?

What do you think - does free promotion and marketing make buying cheap books acceptable, or not?